Word to the Wise
Friday, January 12, 2007 - First Friday in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 4:1-5 and Mark 2:1-12]Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Whic is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk?'
The dramatic story of the four men bringing someone on a litter and tearing open the roof to get him down in front of Jesus is one that offers us entertainment as well as profound theology. It is certainly entertaining to imagine how these guys did this! I have reflected here in the past on the importance of the faith of the friends who bring the paralytic. Today I want to call attention to something in continuity with yesterday's passage in Mark: the power of Jesus' word. What is at issue is not the faith of the paralytic or even the forgiveness of sins, it is the power of Jesus' word. If he says "Your sins are forgiven!" the authorities are scandalized, but there is no way to witness if this takes place or not. But if he says, "Pick up your mat and walk!" and the guy does that, there's no doubting the power of his word! Curing the paralytic makes it clear that his claim to forgive sins has credibility! It is that same "word" of Jesus that I must communicate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Believing in that word is at the center of our faith. Can we take Jesus at his word? AMEN
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